Exploring the role of on-line discussion in academic staff development for new lecturers

Web-conferencing was used within an accredited staff development programme for new lecturers. Its use was embedded within the programme and was designed, in part, to enable participants to achieve a learning outcome that required them to 'use learning technologies that are appropriate to the learner, subject, content and level'. Using learning technologies within the programme was one approach to encourage wider engagement with learning technologies. Research was conducted to determine how web-conferencing was used; how usable it was perceived to be; views on how appropriate its use was; and on how it might be used more widely. The results indicate that although web-conferencing did enable all formally required interactions to occur within the programme, there was limited enthusiasm, either for its use or to extend its use. The paper explores tenuous links between the processes of embedding learning technologies and establishing motivation to learn about them.